While I took some pictures at Pont des Arts, an old gentleman was passing by. Let us call him, Claus. Claus did cross the bridge in a slow, but efficient speed. He did not have to stop, because of all the tourist like some fast sportive runners had to. Reminds me of the Tibetan saying:

„Sometimes you have to walk slower to reach your goal faster.“

Did he think about the narrow-mindedness of the humans species trying to grab a glimpse of infinity? Or did he wonder about those coming back and searching the traces of the past, checking if their love (lock) is still there… Some say

„all wisdom is useless without work. And work is senseless without love“.

Can we carry any load?
Maybe Claus is the Keymaker of Pont des Arts. Sure, all the heart locks attract Photoshop lovers from around the world, too. Can a piece of rusting, heavy-metal be something like a promise?

„If I’m knocking on heavens door, do I have to unlock all these locks?“

Again, the problem with external, material symbols is: they soon fade away. You might be quite happily while you are at Pont des Arts and kinda locked down your love (…) via a love lock. You jump for joy and think „I’m glad my key is in my pocket“! Years later you come back searching your love (lock) and be like „Oh god!! Where is mine??“

Claus has been crossing the Pont des Arts already for decades. He knows a lot about the burden of locks, love and liberty. After all those years, he knows the perfect place for a love lock and its key: a loving heart and a smile.

Embrace the Sun

Let us all stand still for a little while, breathe in – breathe out and embrace the sun. There are so many things we tend to forget or take for granted. The sun shines for you, day in – day out, ok, sometimes it hides behind some clouds, but it’s still there, like a really good friend.

We love the illusions of a mesmerizing sunset and our hearts jump for joy with every fresh sunrise. Hey, remember, the sun itself never gets to feel these amazing memories!

When was your last chillaxing sunset or sunrise? Go out and embrace the sun!

What happens if you are travelling to Paris?

1. You leave your comfort zone.
Yes, my couch loves and understands me too. But your sofa will not kick you up the Montmartre to the most loveliest view over Paris.

2. You have to move your butt.
When you made it up to the top at Sacre Coeur, you will most probably miss your couch already… but(t) remember(s), that our body was made for exploring, walking around, dancing , or running in the rain!

3. You have to adapt to unforeseen situations.
The sign might clearly tell you, the train will leave from the left track, but there’s already a train to the right of the platform. In Germany, we would expect the train to leave precisely from the left side. In France it’s possible that, for no understandable reason, the train on the left, today, leaves from the right side. Open your mind… 😉

4. You might see things you don’t like.
In the area of the 18th arrondissement and generally in Paris, you might see homeless, beggars, guys who want to give you stuff for „free“ (never-ever take something in your hand, unless you really want to buy it) and others might sell you „top-new“ mobile phones. Without a receipt for sure. If you feel like you want to help, focus and do it in an organized way, for example via mycharitywater. And from the ZEN side, it might sound harsh but it’s not your business.

5. You might see things that make you smile bright.
You can’t plan or buy to meet a very old French couple in the streets of Montmartre giving you tips and insider info you’ll find nowhere else. Unforgettable are their smiles when you *listen* to them and just be thankful and give them a smile and a „Merci!“ for goodbye.

6. You could visit friends or find new ones.
Life is a journey. It’s up to you, who you let go or keep by your side. Yes, you can travel all alone, but it’s more fun to make another face smile and have enlightening conversations along the way 🙂 In my case: merci, Klaus! Hope to meet you soon again – here or there…

7. You might find inner peace.
I’m writing this on the TGV on my way back home. You never get again, again this life. Traveling can help you to re-evaluate your life from a distance. Are all those things you have to do really that important to you, really? Even the shortest trip, 1-2 days, can bring you back on the right (or left) track.

Since I lose track of my own lessons learned in 2013 from time to time, I made a desktop wallpaper for you and me. Download the picture in full size (2048 x 1365 px) if you like. I hope it is useful for you, too. Namaste 🙂

/edit: By public (an my own) request, I made an iPhone iOS7 parallax wallpaper. Yes, looks great on Android, too 😉 Click it for full size and download it for your daily reminder..

Movember 2013 was really great! Maybe not so much on the donation side this year, but on the human side. Many discussions, more laughter and some strange looks and funny smiles.

What did I hear this year:

“Who are you? … OMG, Chris?!”

“I would never allow my hubby to grow a moustache.”

“Do you know, you look shitty. When will you shave again?“

“Man, that’s a great thing. Though I could never participate.” Me: Why? “Because I had to remove all mirrors in my house. I just could not stand seeing me in the mirror with a moustache.”

“Oh, is it this time of the year again?” Yes!

Summary: if you want to change something, do something. Be brave. Jelly people often secretly admire you, but they simply lack the courage (until now) to DO something. Still be friendly, wear a smile and a moustache – at least at Movember!

One of the greatest things on this planet is having awesome friends. They don’t have to be around you all the time. Maybe some are thousand miles away. What counts in the end, is if they think of you from time to time. Tom sent me this pic with the following line:

I’m in Waikiki and when I saw this graffiti I thought of you ;-). Very nice here. More pics later, cheers

About a year ago I wrote about „your problems“. It’s been a year with many ups and downs. And a few weeks back, she died at the age of 34. One of her last sentences was “Please, don’t forget me”.

Every time some buddy (somebody…) you know checks out unexpectedly, you have another chance to reflect about your own life:

“The past is gone, the future is uncertain. What do you do with your remaining time?” Buddhist saying

At that time she died, my life was very busy and I had to postpone my reflections about her early check-out. One thing though, was very clear to me: I wanted to buy a hourglass to constantly remind me of the floating nature of time. And to make sure I really get one, I told several good people about it. Jen from Moscow told me, she even has one which works upside down, what is really ZEN to me for various reasons.

Time flies and 7 weeks later, I still haven’t bought a sand glass. Sounds like a mission for karma: first day at work in my new position, sitting at my desk, looking around and there it is. A hourglass, with red “sand”, floating from bottom to top. Me being speechless, staring at it, my colleague tells me: “Oh, somebody brought it as a promotional gift.” Clever cosmos…

What lessons did I learn so far:

We waste way too much time on low priority topics in our lives.

We complain way too much about things we don’t even remember after 3-4 weeks.

We often act like we have an infinite amount of time left in our lives.

Sometimes life delivers so many challenges and changes in a very short time. Maybe you know the feeling of being drowned in information, tons of stuff to do and still, nobody refilled the fridge for you.

Then you read about to balance mind body soul but you don’t have time for it. The guys of the Lift app came up with the idea of creating groups to join a bunch of Jedis, who face the same struggles. So we have set up the body.speech.mind group which will sign you up for the habits of Exercise, Tell a story and Meditate.

If you feel stressed and run on a 24/7 schedule of your (business) life, joining the group might be something for you. Namaste